On June 11, Zhongju Hi-Tech (600872.SH) announced the termination of its 2024 restricted stock incentive plan, along with the corresponding share buyback and cancellation.

The company stated that the termination was primarily due to industry adjustments, which rendered performance assessment targets ineffective and led to changes among some incentive recipients. The matters involved have undergone compliant review procedures and comply with regulatory requirements.

This move is intended to focus on optimizing long-term incentive mechanisms. The company has always valued long-term incentives for its core team. In the future, it will continue to research and improve incentive plans based on strategic and operational realities, aiming to stabilize the core team, attract key talent, and align the long-term interests of shareholders, the company, and employees. This is expected to enhance the company's core competitiveness and create greater value for shareholders on a sustained basis.

Public information shows that among Zhongju Hi-Tech's condiment products, core categories such as soy sauce, chicken essence, and oyster sauce continue to lead the industry. Driven by its brand upgrade strategy, the company signed Nicholas Tse as brand ambassador, and the Chubang brand value reached 29.289 billion yuan.

While consolidating its advantages in basic condiments, the company is actively expanding into the high-growth compound condiment segment. In February 2026, the company acquired a 55% stake in Sichuan Weizimei.

Weizimei focuses on Sichuan-style compound condiments and prepared dishes, with mature R&D and catering channel resources in products such as hot pot base and Sichuan cuisine seasonings, serving over 10,000 catering outlets. The company holds more than 30 self-developed patents, has a reserve of over 2,000 recipes, and can achieve an annual production value exceeding 2 billion yuan.

Moreover, the company is actively developing the B-end catering and group meal channels.

In May 2026, Chubang, together with Anbao Nutrition Technology, which has been dedicated to campus nutrition meals for 16 years, launched the "Chubang · Royal Kitchen" campus-exclusive clean-label compound condiments at the Guangdong Group Meal Nutrition and Health Development Forum. A total of 29 campus-specific compound sauces were released, covering mainstream campus dishes, adopting a standardized model of "one dish, one sauce; one sauce, one dish," suitable for canteen kitchens and smart cooking equipment.

The two parties also jointly launched the Guangdong-Guizhou Clean Food Health Ecosystem Co-construction Project, prioritizing services for 25 million primary and secondary school students in Guangdong and Guizhou. This move marks the company's official entry into the high-potential campus group meal segment, opening new growth space for its B-end business.

The good development momentum can be seen in the first-quarter performance. In the first quarter of 2026, the company achieved operating revenue of 1.320 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.88%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 263 million yuan, up 45.11% year-on-year; and non-GAAP net profit was 239 million yuan, up 32.49% year-on-year. Both net profit attributable to shareholders and non-GAAP net profit reached record highs for the same period.

Based on confidence in operational recovery and long-term development, the company has previously launched a series of measures to enhance shareholder value.

  • In 2025, the company's largest shareholder, Torch Group, and its concerted action persons increased their holdings by a total of 22.7238 million shares throughout the year, and Chairman Li Ruxiong increased his holdings by 100,500 shares.
  • In May 2026, Vice Chairman Yu Jianhua increased his holdings by 53,000 shares with personal funds, investing 1 million yuan, and committed not to reduce his holdings within the statutory period. Analysts said that the management's consecutive increases in holdings are a high recognition of the company's value, aiming to send a signal of stable development to the market.

In terms of buybacks, as of the end of April 2026, the company had repurchased a cumulative total of 8.8644 million shares, accounting for 1.14% of total share capital, with a cumulative payment of approximately 160 million yuan. As of the latest data, the repurchased shares have reached 2% of the company's shares.

Combined with the share cancellation after the termination of this incentive plan, the company's total share capital will further shrink, and the intrinsic value per share is expected to continue to rise. In terms of dividends, in 2025, the company plans to distribute a cash dividend of 4.5 yuan per 10 shares, with a dividend payout ratio of 64.20%.

Industry insiders said that from a financial perspective, after the termination of the equity incentive plan, the previously accrued but not yet actually incurred incentive expenses will be reversed in accordance with regulations, which is expected to have a positive impact on the company's current-period reported profit.

At the same time, after the termination of this incentive plan, the shares will be cancelled, and the company's total share capital will further shrink, which is expected to continue to enhance the intrinsic value per share.

Looking ahead, as the business fundamentals continue to recover, the main business base remains stable, and new growth curves gradually take shape, the continuous optimization of corporate governance mechanisms will provide stronger institutional guarantees for long-term value growth.